The Oscar Project Interlude #6: Best of the 1980s

by Chris Marshall:

Well, as I somewhat feared, the 1980s as a whole was one of my least favorite decades so far in The Oscar Project. It’s not that every movie was terrible, just that there was no film that was really great. Every other decade has had at least one: Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, All About Eve, The Apartment, half of the 1970s. But the 1980s didn’t provide a film approaching that caliber.

And yes, there were a couple I just didn’t like at all. I feel like I was able to find some redeeming quality in every movie I watched this decade, but Chariots of Fire having a cool soundtrack doesn’t make up for all of its other flaws. I don’t think the 80s was a particularly bad decade for film in general, but it was a bad decade for the Academy. I mean, why wasn’t Ghostbusters or Back to the Future winning Best Picture?

There are definitely bittersweet emotions surrounding this past decade because it will be the last set of films I watch/write about in Ohio. I’m moving on Monday, so Dances with Wolves on Sunday will be the final pre-Mississippi Oscar Project post. And in just over three weeks, this series will be completed. It’s so hard to believe that it’s that close.

There will be more time to write about that subject later, though. For now, it’s time to move on to my Best of the 1980s list.

1.       Rain Man (1988)

2.       Terms of Endearment (1983)

3.       Platoon (1986)

4.       Ordinary People (1980)

5.       Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

6.       The Last Emperor (1987)

7.       Gandhi (1982)

8.       Out of Africa (1985)

9.       Amadeus (1984)

10.     Chariots of Fire (1981)

The number one spot was really a three-way race. I could see myself going either way with those. Regardless, I still think it’s a bad sign when Rain Man is the movie I like the most in a given decade. As I said in the review, it’s a nice, respectable dramedy, but it doesn’t even approach the level of the movies I mentioned in the first paragraph. Chariots of Fire was always going to be in last place. I already can barely remember anything that happened in it, and I think that’s sort of for the best.

It’s really strange when I think about how only two full decades are left. Of the 22 remaining films in The Oscar Project, I’ve seen all but 9 of them. Once I reach 2006, I will be watching every winner for at least the second time. However, cruel Fate has thrown some difficulties in my way. Last night, severe storms raced through Columbus, leaving over 200,000 without power in the city and over 500,000 in the dark across the state. As I mentioned, I move back to Mississippi on Monday, but AEP says that power won’t be restored for many residents for another five to seven days, meaning I likely won’t have electricity again while I live in Ohio. This will make it quite tricky to watch Dances with Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs.

But I’ve always been able to find a way so far; I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I’m able to do it again. Once again, my decision to do these interlude posts at the end of each decade has really helped my cause. I can only hope it’s enough.

[Note: I know the background color for my list is messed up. It's annoying when it does this and takes an incredibly long time to fix. I'll work on it if/when I ever have electricity again]